When the Heart Heals

Shorey (Where Wildflowers Bloom) continues her Sisters at Heart series with this tale of stubborn pride and prejudice. Rosemary Saxon hopes to use the nursing skills she learned during the Civil War to help the new doctor in Noble Springs, Missouri—Elijah Stewart. When the doctor agrees, the pair build a professional relationship that could warm into a closer tie. Rosemary, however, faces harassment by an unknown villain, the doctor’s animosity toward her herbal cures, his interference in her personal life, struggles with her temper, and a suitor who wants more than she’s willing to give. Can Rosemary swallow her pride long enough to see the possibilities? Can Dr. Stewart see beyond his prejudices to open his mind? Is the mysterious woman who says she’s the doctor’s fiancé telling the truth? Shorey plods through each scene with the efficacy of a tour guide, but the book lacks the depth that could have made it a true winner. Agent: Tamela Hancock Murray, the Steve Laube Agency. (Feb.)